The book will mainly be of interest to those who deal with patients. The objective is to focus attention on something so commonplace that until recently it has been sadly neglected; the papers illustrate the results of this neglect.
Simply describing something bad does not necessarily point the way to improvement, and the more important feature is that contributors have drawn intensively on relevant theory and research to point directions for future progress.
Such a book must draw heavily on disciplines other than medicine. For human communication is an extraordinary active focus of work attracting the attention of many with diverse interests and backgrounds.
Five of the six principal contributors are psychologists. The relevance of their writings to those caring for patients, and particularly those with the responsibility for the training of students, is quickly made apparent.